Attorney General Mark Brnovich
Attorney General Mark Brnovich
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is investigating complaints by voters regarding the use of Sharpies at polling locations.
Brnovich sent a letter to the Maricopa County Elections Department requesting information about which voting locations were provided Sharpies, to what extent were the markers used, how many ballots were rejected and whether the ballot tabulation machines that were used were programmed to reject over-voted ballots.
The Attorney General’s Office also requested information about rejected ballots and the process for canceling voters’ ballots.
“Voters are concerned that the use of Sharpies may have caused ballots to be rejected, spoiled or cancelled,” the letter stated.
The office is seeking the information be provided by noon on Nov. 5.
Voters across Arizona made complaints about the Sharpies after realizing they were bleeding through ballots. One video surfaced where a woman said that four different polling stations between Queen Creek and Gilbert were using Sharpies and votes were being trashed.
Gov. Doug Ducey said that all votes would need to be properly counted before the state called the election and that there were many votes in the state that still needed to be counted.
“Arizonans turned out in historic numbers for this election, and we owe it to them to count their votes,” he said in a statement, Grand Canyon Times reported. “The results have shifted greatly hour by hour, and from last night until today.”
Ducey stressed it was important to be patient while the votes were being counted and that all Arizonans that cast their votes would be heard “fairly and accurately.”
Voters have been encouraged to check the status of their ballots on the Secretary of State’s website after the Sharpie concerns.